Too few watts in headwind

[clodhopper]

I got my Powerpod for Christmas and have put over 1200 miles on it. I have never rode with a power meter before, but I ride indoors on a spin trainer that has a power readout. It seems that my numbers on the trainer and with the Powerpod are very close given perceived exertion when I am going up hill, but it seems that the Powerpod is registering low for level or down hill. It particularly seems too low when I am in a headwind. These are observations I have made over many rides.

I am planning to ride a century in 13 days with a friend who rides with a DFPM. Could you please review my 20k out and back calibration ride and let me know whether my profile is set up right?

iBike_08_27_2017_1504_12_Miles.ibr

(145.28 KiB) Downloaded 187 times

Thanks,
Clodhopper

[Velocomp]

A 20K out-and-back is too long...too many changes in wind can happen.

I took a shorter section of this ride and adjusted your profile a bit. Watts will be a bit higher.

[clodhopper]

Thank you so much. This profile seems to be more in line with RPE on hills and on the flat. How do I test to see if it needs any more precise tweaking without the use of a DFPM?

Thanks,
Clodhopper

[Velocomp]

Do a ride with the profile, then post the file here

[clodhopper]

John,

The test ride I did on Saturday should be good. It was 26 miles in relatively flat conditions. As I said, the same power output seemed to be the same exertion for both hills as well as flats this time. Here is the ride file. Let me know if there are any further tweaks necessary. I would also like to know a little more about how you judge.

Thanks,
Brian

[Velocomp]

Yes, this one looks good.

I assess two things:

1) What does the wind speed look like relative to bike speed? If wind speed is comparable to bike speed, that is a good thing

2) On an out and back ride, I look to see if average bike speed and average wind speed are about the same

You're good to go!

[clodhopper]

Thanks again!!!!